Conserving land and water for people and wildlife…one Land Donations Felburn Grant Saves Continue to Propel Mondex Subdivision now three-quarters Since PLC’s founding in 2006, we have accepted PLC received a generous grant from the Robinson says acquiring parcels in 886 parcels encompassing more than 900 acres Felburn Foundation in 2020 to preserve Mondex is like "trying to put Humpty in our exceptional land donation program. Most the largest remaining 42-acre parcel in Dumpty back together again." Mondex of these parcels are protected in perpetuity with the undeveloped Mondex subdivision in is considered a high priority because of conservation easements and lie in rural areas southern Putnam County. This follows its biodiversity and location within the with intact native plant communities. PLC has on a 2017 Felburn Foundation grant to O2O Wildlife Corridor (see page 2) and designated many of these parcels to serve as purchase 35 acres in Mondex, which has abutting the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross neighborhood nature parks. A few examples of been a special PLC project area since Greenway. Natural communities donated parcels include the 8.82-acre Kalogeras- 2009. PLC and our allies have so far in the area include mesic and wet Patrinos Nature Preserve in the O2O Corridor in protected 75% of the 980-acre Mondex. flatwoods, floodplain swamp, and Putnam County (donated in 2014 and dedicated Private conservation partner Mitchell pristine hydric hammock. in 2020), the 50-acre T.E. Triplett Nature Preserve on Long Pond in Putnam County My father will be proud wherever he is. This is a closing of the inal chapter (dedicated in a special supporter event in 2019), of his life-well-lived and donating his land to PLC is the perfect ending. the 18-acre Pinecrest-Surfside Nature Preserve ~ Donor, on giving her father’s Mondex property to PLC in St. Johns County (comprised of 309 donated lots as of 2020), and the 10-acre Marburger Nature Preserve in Putnam County (including part of a sandhill lake, to be dedicated for Success for PLC’s educational purposes in 2021). Pioneering Conservation A golden silk orb-weaver (Trichonephila clavipes) works on her web at PLC's Kalogeras-Patrinos Nature Preserve. CREDIT: WILLY THE LOSEN For the past four years, PLC has been In 2020, the Conservation Certificate pursuing an innovative approach to the Program acquired its first conservation acquisition of conservation lands. PLC property, located within the O2O Wildlife researches and purchases county certificates Corridor, and generated over $2,200 in on lands that are good candidates for interest income for PLC. The program’s conservation, with a focus on lands in success is largely due to three years of sparsely developed and ecologically generous contributions from Jason Wiles, undisturbed rural subdivisions. The program owner and CEO of 7G Environmental has two major benefits – PLC earns interest Compliance LLC, in the form of grants for on the certificates and later may acquire the one-to-one matches of PLC donor parcels that come up for auction. This contributions. When you donate to PLC, program works well because of the proverbial “Florida swamp land” please let us know if you would like to development pattern of small lots in rural earmark part or all of your contribution to subdivisions with absentee owners. the Conservation Certificate Program.

PLC Part of Ocala-to-Osceola “O2O” Wildlife Corridor The O2O project will engage PLC’s Natural Resources Conservation special skills for targeting smaller Service through its Regional parcels that often require painstaking Conservation Partnership Program and persistent effort to conserve… (RCPP). NFLT is the lead in the O2O grant, which proposes to conserve PLC is a member of the O2O Wildlife Corridor 6,200 acres of agricultural lands. As Partnership, which is headed up by the North part of the grant, PLC will provide Florida Land Trust (NFLT) and includes 17 landowner outreach and cultivation, public and private organizations cooperating to volunteer educational efforts, and conserve land between the Ocala and Osceola technical assistance in evaluating National Forests. In Putnam County, the project projects in Putnam, Clay, and Marion is centered around Florida National Guard’s counties. This will engage PLC’s Camp Blanding near Starke, which protects special skills for targeting smaller 73,400 acres in the heart of the O2O. The goal parcels that often require painstaking is to protect an additional 140,000 acres of and persistent effort to conserve, either tortoise, Eastern indigo snake, wood stork, unprotected private lands in the O2O in the by acquisition or conservation easement. PLC is swallow-tailed kite, red-cockaded woodpecker, next 20 years. The O2O Wildlife Corridor is an undertaking long-term, strategic educational and Sherman’s fox squirrel, Cooper’s hawk, integral segment of the Florida Wildlife management efforts with public and private Bachman’s sparrow, Florida long-tailed weasel, Corridor of protected lands that runs from the landowners to protect lands in the O2O for Florida willow, and longleaf pine, to name just Everglades to the Okefenokee Swamp. The future generations. The O2O biological corridor a few. Other benefits include the protection of O2O Wildlife Corridor Partnership has been will provide essential habitat for plants and water resources, scenic vistas, and recreational awarded a $9.4 million grant from the USDA wildlife such as the Florida black bear, gopher trails.

Conservation Easements – A Win-Win Formula for Land Conservation easements continue to be a major part of PLC’s land conservation toolkit. A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement where a landowner limits development of the land to protect its conservation value for future generations. PLC monitors the condition of the land over time while the landowner receives tax and conservation benefits. For example, PLC acquired a conservation easement on the 115-acre George B. Butler Nature Preserve on Lake Galilee in Putnam County. This property protects

A foggy winter morning on the in PLC’s Mondex area. a half-mile sandhill lake shoreline (pictured at the head of this newsletter), sandhill upland CREDIT: BRYAN LINDERBERGER forest, wet prairie, and marsh An intact sandhill ecosystem at George B. Butler Preserve, a PLC conservation ecosystems from development. PLC easement on Lake Galilee in Putnam County. CREDIT: WILLY THE LOSEN PLC Partnership: also holds conservation easements on Florida National about 35 acres on Bream Lake and on numerous other parcels. PLC is in PLC entered into a Memorandum of negotiation for a conservation Understanding (MOU) with the USDA easement on a 50-acre historic site Forest Service’s National Forests in Florida, and spring on the St. Johns River which is the administrator of the Florida shoreline. Large or small, these areas National Scenic Trail (FNST). The FNST are legally protected in perpetuity crosses one of PLC’s Mondex properties. and are contributing to the The purpose of the MOU is to document the completion of the O2O Wildlife agreement between PLC and the USDA Corridor and the conservation of Forest Service to cooperatively design, wild species and ecosystems. locate, and manage the FNST on PLC’s land.

Endangered Species: PLC and PLC Works for Water PLC has specific projects intended to Florida Native Plant Society’s protect water quality. For example, PLC is finalizing a conservation easement on PLC is partnering with the Florida Native Plant Warea is endemic, meaning it occurs only in 50 acres with a spring on the St. Johns Society (FNPS) to protect endangered and Florida. Ocala ecologist and educator Jim Buckner River that was visited by William Bartram during his travels, targeted for threatened species, including the federally formed the Warea Working Group to strategize completion in 2021. PLC is a managing endangered plant Warea amplexifola. Warea is a how to protect the area. The group asked PLC to partner of the Little Orange Creek Nature rare species of flowering plant in the take the lead in acquisition of Warea parcels. In Park (LOCNP), where we crafted a site Brasssicaceae (mustard family) found only in 2017, PLC contacted 2,000 property owners in management and water protection plan sandhill ecosystems and known by the common Silver Springs Shores subdivision of Marion for the recreational area. Long before names wideleaf pinelandcress and clasping warea. County to raise awareness, as this area contains the construction began, PLC consulted with largest known population of Warea. In the Florida Department of Transportation 2018, PLC and the Florida Native Plant (FDOT) on the widening of four-lane Highway 20 through Putnam County, Society (FNPS) established an MOU that leading to the addition of a hike-under included support and direction from bridge at LOCNP, a 300-foot bridge over Conservation Florida on Warea the rare pitcher plant bog at Fowler’s conservation. Since then, PLC has rescued Prairie, sloped curbs to avoid trapping of seeds and established them in appropriate tortoises and other wildlife on the road, habitats on separate sites. We recently and re-routing around a critically removed excess overstory competition and important sinkhole. The PLC team ground-level debris at a PLC-owned recently visited the sinkhole where divers were exploring connections to the property to allow for expansion of Floridan Aquifer. The owner is interested established Warea plants. FNPS recorded in protecting this site, which is habitat for a Delaware skipper butterfly (Anatrytone an endemic cave crayfish. logan) nectaring on the Warea plants in a Putnam County sinkhole. CREDIT: ROBERT VIRNSTEIN PLC protected area. This preservation project will benefit other imperiled species, such as the federally threatened endemic Florida sand skink (Plestiodon reynoldsi) and the state-protected gopher Jim Buckner examines an abundant stand of clasping warea (Warea amplexifolia) at the Warea Conservation Area in Marion County. CREDIT: WILLY THE LOSEN tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus).

PLC Land Holdings and Below is a summary of properties owned by or with conservation easements to PLC as of early 2020. Although PLC is a modest organization often working with smaller projects, our efforts add up to a significant impact in conserving land and water for people and wildlife…one parcel at a time. PLC Adds Key County Number of parcels Land area (acres) Parcels to State Putnam 795 695 In 2019, PLC added several parcels to Marion 116 72 existing State of Florida lands in Putnam Flagler 33 50 County. PLC acquired an inholding that St. Johns 14 16 was added to Etoniah Creek State Forest; Others Counties* 21 24 PLC sold a donated parcel to the state as Total 979 857 an addition to the Dunns Creek State Park; *Others: Alachua, Brevard, Charloe, Citrus, Clay, Dixie, Highlands, Marn, Osceola, Polk, Volusia and PLC acquired a connecting parcel that was added to the Carl Duval Moore State Forest, providing a critical access point where the Florida Forest Service has developed a parking and access area DONATE at www.putnamlandconservancy.org/donate for the South Tract of the forest.

PLC Board of Directors and Putnam Land Conservancy – Who Established in 2006, PLC is a regional, land owners to safeguard in perpetuity the Staff 501(c)(3) nonprofit Florida land trust dedicated places that define the special character of our President Timothy Keyser toFinding working cooperatively An Agent with land owners That’s and region,Right contributing to its environmental and Vice President Alan Hodges public and private conservation partners to economic vitality. Secretary Palmer Kinser preserve our important natural areas and open PLC receives no government funding for Treasurer Robert Blount spaces for future generations. We secure land general operating support. We rely on Past President Robert Virnstein through gifts and bequests, direct purchase, contributions from private individuals, Director Claude Brown bargain sale, and conservation easements. PLC corporations, and foundations. Donations Director Lisa Modola also promotes stewardship of land through are tax deductible. Director David Wiles action and education to restore and maintain PLC has adopted the Half-Earth Principle as Conservation CEO Willy the Losen ecosystem integrity. By these means, we enable our inspiration for land conservation. Administrative Assistant Karin Weinrich DONATE at www.putnamlandconservancy.org/donate Media Volunteer Susan Marynowski

PLC Makes Organizational Development PLC Business Partners

In the past few years, PLC has made advances in organizational development. We have been 7G Environmental Compliance LLC Jason Wiles, President/CEO accepted by the University of Florida Campaign for Charities (UFCC), where UF employees 2016 Delta Boulevard, Suite 201 can designate PLC to receive payroll-deducted contributions. PLC has also welcomed new Tallahassee FL 32303 board members and reinvigorated our social media presence. The PLC Board looks forward http://7g-enviro.com/ to serving Putnam and surrounding counties in continued efforts to conserve the land, water, 850-304-2610 and wildlife of our region for the benefit of present and future generations! Keyser and Sharbaugh, PA Contact us at 386-336-5400 www.facebook.com/putnamland Attorneys at Law Email [email protected] www.putnamlandconservancy.org 501 Atlantic Avenue Interlachen FL 32148

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Putnam Land Conservancy P.O. Box 8 Palatka, FL 32178

THE PUTNAM LAND CONSERVANCY’S CHARITABLE SOLICITATION NUMBER IS CH22956. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OF FLORIDA. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE Of FLORIDA.